“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power
and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

God has given us His Holy Spirit. As we read the
characteristics of the Spirit that He has given, we find…

• Boldness (Acts 4:31, 4:8-13)

• Faith (Acts 11:24)

• Power (Acts 1:8)

• Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)

All of these are the opposite of fear.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,
because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect
in love” (1 John 4:18).

If God did not give a spirit of fear and we have a spirit of
fear, guess who gave it.

• Fear comes from the Enemy.

• Fear always has to do with the future.

• Fear is always based on a lie.

• Fear is contrary to those gifts and fruit the Holy Spirit
gives.

At present, we are seeing thousands of Christians giving in
to fear. These thousands are generating more thousands. They are believing the
lie of the Enemy. The problems we are facing, even if they are catastrophic, are
no reason to become immobilized with fear. It is future. Jesus said, “So do not
worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we
wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father
knows that  you need them. But seek first
his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as
well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about
itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:31-34).

We have our job. Seek first His kingdom and do not
worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Please do not participate in tomorrow’s panic.

This post coordinates with today’s reading in the Same
Page Summer Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading
plan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with
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“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid
arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must
not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not
resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God
will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that
they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has
taken them captive to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:23-26).

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation
has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who
reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message
of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God
were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be
reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in
him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

These two passages teach how to minister and how not to
minister. The passage in 2 Timothy speaks of four wills that are involved in a
man’s conversion:

•           God’s will

•           The
Christian’s will

•           The
non-Christian’s will

•           Satan’s
will

The key will in the passage is the Christian’s will. He is
told how not to witness and why. He is told how to witness and is told what the
effect of that witness will be.

In 2 Corinthians, we find out five things:

•           The
Christian is reconciled.

•           He has been
given the ministry of reconciliation.

•           He has been
given the message of reconciliation.

•           He has been
given authority to speak for Jesus Christ.

•           God has
given us the gospel.

This post coordinates with today’s reading in the Same
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“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)

“As I have already said, the first twenty-five years of my
Christian life I lived in utter ignorance of this simple truth. I can never
forget the 14^th of August, 1910, when the scales dropped from my
eyes, and I saw that Christ was my life. Christ was my victory. I wasn’t
bothering about the theological questions that have been discussed to the
entanglement and defeating of so many Christians…. How God does things…is
His business, not mine. But I do know that God does this thing; and I
know it not because of any experiences of victory God has given me—blessed
though some of them have been, and beyond anything I dreamed possible—but I
know it because God says so. I don’t know it by looking at my own
victories, or at the victories of others. I don’t know it because of any
present experience or consciousness of Christ that I have. I know it because
the Word of God says it. He says, ‘Sin shall not have dominion over you,’ and,
if that is not true, God is a liar—and if that is so, I have no hope of salvation,
I have no hope of anything. But God is not a liar: He is the eternal
truth; and because His Word is true, it means that God is responsible for my
victory; and, until I doubt Him, I am going to have victory. The moment I begin
to waver and doubt, down I go, into the sea of doubt, as Peter did when he got
his eyes off Christ” (from Victory in Christ by Charles G. Trumbull).

“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present
you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only
God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 24-25).

This post coordinates with today’s reading in the Same
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“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the
greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

We know that faith and love remain. We have had our doubts
about hope. Perhaps it is because we have placed a 21st century
definition on hope. For instance, we may say something like, “I hope
so,” meaning, “I wish it would happen, but it probably won’t.” To us, hope is
wishy and doubtful. That is why it doesn’t sound like it belongs with faith and
love.

In the Bible, hope is not wishy; it is a sure thing.

“God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which
it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope
offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for
the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:18-19).

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to
all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to
live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we
wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior,
Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to
purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good”
(Titus 2:11-14).

Notice:

Hope is firm and secure.

Hope is blessed.

Hope is future.

Hope is centered on the appearing of Jesus Christ.

In other words, hope, as spoken about in the Bible, is a
glad anticipation of a future certainty, the return of Jesus Christ.

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a
Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

This post coordinates with tomorrow’s reading in the Same
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“Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of
what is falsely called knowledge” (1 Timothy 6:20).

We are bombarded with “godless chatter” every day. In
university towns, we are immersed in it. In all of this, there is some of God’s
truth. People hear God’s truth and consequently do not recognize the godless
chatter for what it is. This makes the godless chatter even more dangerous.
Nevertheless, Timothy was instructed to turn away from it.

There are three ways to discern godless chatter:

Know the wisdom of God very well. “We do, however, speak a
message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the
rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret
wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory
before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they
had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:6-8).

Know the enemy “…in order that Satan might not outwit us.
For we are not unaware of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:6-8).

Stay awake. “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the
devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist
him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout
the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

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“How much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the
grace of the one man Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!” (Romans 5:15).

This is the cure for the trespass and the death that entered
the world through Adam. Notice that it is the grace of God and of the one man
Jesus Christ. Notice, too, that this grace and gift both overflow to the many.
This agrees with verse 20:

“But where sin increased, grace increased all the more…”

Isn’t that wonderful? If some little kid threw a mudball and
hit a white sheet hanging on a clothesline, the housewife would not take a
little soap and water to wash out that amount of mud. She would use much more
soap and water and wash the whole sheet. That is the way with the grace of God.
God uses more than enough.

His love has no limit;

His grace has no measure.

His pow’r has no boundary known unto man.

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus

He giveth, and giveth and giveth again.

-Annie Johnson Flint

This post coordinates with today’s reading in the Same
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Here are some thoughts on the character of God.

“By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah
herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered
him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good
as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless
as the sand on the seashore” (Hebrews 11:11-12). 

“They will say, ‘Where is this “coming” he promised? Ever since
our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of
creation’…. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand
slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to
come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:4, 9).

The first passage has to do with God’s promise to Abraham when
he was 100 years old, because Abraham knew that God was faithful and would keep
his promise. God kept his promise!

The second passage has to do with the promise of Jesus to
return to Earth. He gives us the reason for the seeming delay. He kept this
promise to Abraham, and He will keep His promise to us.

This post coordinates with today’s reading in the Same
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“But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is
commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for
you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter
2:20-21).

“They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening,
they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message
believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand” (Acts 4:3-4).

“Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria
enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy
Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord” (Acts 9:31).

These two passages have something in common. The church grew
in numbers in both cases. There was a difference, though. In the first case,
the church was persecuted, and in the second the church enjoyed a time of
peace. The conclusion is that church growth is not related directly to
persecution or peace. It is related directly to the preaching of the
gospel in power.

The church can die under persecution, but it does not have
to. The church can die in peace, but it does not have to. The church died in
the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey because of persecution. Over the last
century, the church died in Northern Europe without persecution. The birthplace
of first-century Christians and the birthplace of the Reformation are now very
needy mission fields.

The church is designed by God to flourish under any form of
government or religion. Today, we have prohibitive governments and religions:
communism, other totalitarian governments, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Roman
Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Judaism (in Israel) and many animistic
cultures. All of these, when in control, are very anti­evangelical Christians.
To ask those who do not believe to stop persecuting believers is not God’s way.
It is asking the devil to play fair.

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may
proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may
proclaim it clearly, as I should” (Colossians 4:2-4).

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of
prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying
for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may
be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.”
(Ephesians 6:18-19).

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ
Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).

“You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a
failure. We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know,
but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong
opposition” (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

“‘Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants
to speak your word with great boldness…’ After they prayed, the place where
they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:29, 31).

This post coordinates with today’s reading in the Same
Page Summer Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading
plan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with
us.

“They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening,
they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message
believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand” (Acts 4:3-4).

“Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria
enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy
Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord” (Acts 9:31).

These two passages have something in common. The church grew
in numbers in both cases. There was a difference, though. In the first case,
the church was persecuted, and in the second the church enjoyed a time of
peace. The conclusion is that church growth is not related directly to
persecution or peace. It is related directly to the preaching of the
gospel in power.

The church can die under persecution, but it does not have
to. The church can die in peace, but it does not have to. The church died in
the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey because of persecution. Over the last
century, the church died in Northern Europe without persecution. The birthplace
of first-century Christians and the birthplace of the Reformation are now very
needy mission fields.

The church is designed by God to flourish under any form of
government or religion. Today, we have prohibitive governments and religions:
communism, other totalitarian governments, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Roman
Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Judaism (in Israel) and many animistic
cultures. All of these, when in control, are very anti­evangelical Christians.
To ask those who do not believe to stop persecuting believers is not God’s way.
It is asking the devil to play fair.

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may
proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may
proclaim it clearly, as I should” (Colossians 4:2-4).

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of
prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying
for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may
be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.”
(Ephesians 6:18-19).

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ
Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).

“You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a
failure. We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know,
but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong
opposition” (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

“‘Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants
to speak your word with great boldness…’ After they prayed, the place where
they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:29, 31).

This post coordinates with today’s reading in the Same
Page Summer Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading
plan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with
us.